UTSA College of Sciences Graduate Students Tour Local Early-Stage Cancer Diagnosis Firm bioAffinity Technologies
The picture above includes bioAffinity Technologies employees (indicated by asterisks), College of Sciences’ students, and one UTSA faculty member.
In order of left to right are Reggie Jacob*, Harry Siegel, Hugo Garcia, Tyson Nguyen, David Elzi*, Shaheen Kermani, Alessandra Vaccaro, Sylvia Andrade Luian, Chelbee Farnen, Valerie Sponsel, Ashley Otley, Pearl Henry-Orth, Jennifer Rebeles*, Sara Timmons, Louis Perez, Alvaro Padron*, Rossella Titone*, Diana Porraz*, Luis Romero, Kevin Gutierrez, Xavier Reveles*
On Monday, April 3, Valerie Sponsel, distinguished teaching professor in the Department of Integrative Biology and graduate advisor for the M.S. biology and biotechnology programs, along with several College of Sciences M.S. students toured bioAffinity Technologies, a San Antonio company that is located on the UTSA West Campus and works to address the need for non-invasive, early-stage cancer diagnosis.
bioAffinity Technologies and its Vice President David Elzi have collaborated closely with UTSA for several years and have hired graduates from the university’s biology and biotechnology programs, including Reggie Jacob, who now works as a research assistant at the firm. Before he was hired, Reggie worked at bioAffinity Technologies as an intern where he participated in their research and development projects.
The event lasted throughout the afternoon and took place on the Main Campus at Science Research Labs (SRL 1.424) and the Mesquite Living Lab. The agenda included multiple presentations and panels which covered information on the research happening at bioAffinity Technologies and the biotechnology careers they offer. The presentations were followed by an informal discussion on the organization’s research and career paths.
"The bioAffinity trip was a great learning experience in careers in the industry versus academia," said Sara Timmons, a graduate student earning her M.S. in biology. "It was interesting learning about their research and hearing the insight of the employees. They definitely gave me something to think about while deciding which career route I want to go in!"
